New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution in connection with a Florida spa, Jupiter Police said Feb. 22, 2019.
Hannah Schwab, hannah.schwab@tcpalm.com

“We are building the plane as we’re flying it, we’re learning, (Homeland Security Investigations) is learning, we’re uncovering a lot of the way that these organizations work,” Martin County sheriff’s Lt. Mike Dougherty said Friday. “We’re seeing the way that the organizations are functioning as far as the money and the spas and the girls, the transactions.”

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder and other officials this week disclosed five spas in Martin County and Jupiter were being investigated as part of a human trafficking probe involving sex for money.

Arrests have been made of the those accused of running the spas and those accused of exchanging money for sexual favors. Dougherty said aspects of the case are eye-opening.

“These people are reporting no income or very little income,” Dougherty said.

A state report showed Ruimei Li, 48, of Jupiter, who was arrested on a host of charges, including racketeering and money laundering, was the only person earning income from Bridge Day Spa in 2017 and 2018, records state. Li reported she earned $4,500 per quarter from Bridge Day Spa.

“The spas will make $20,000, $30,000 a year total, and yet they’re pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars that we know of,” he said.

Photo of suspect Lixia Zhu, seen during a media briefing at the Martin County Sheriff's Office in Stuart on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, to discuss an eight-month multi-agency case investigation involving human trafficking and prostitution. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

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Federal agencies, he said, are working to “follow this pyramid, this organization to try and connect them and move to the top.”

“We can show an organization here with definitely five spas in this area that’s run by one person with another assistant,” he said.

He said federal officials are tracking the electronic trail of cash.

“We’ve seen excessive amounts of money come into these bank accounts and move around, way, way, way, way more than you would ever imagine a spa of any sort,” he said. “We’re talking tens of millions of dollars.”

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Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and lead detective Andrew Sharpe announce at a news conference that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at the Jupiter Police Department. Chief Kerr also confirmed they have video evidence. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM